T. McCall. Space Shuttle Issues The U.S. Space Shuttle stamp of 1995 depicts the famous liftoff of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, Mission STS-57, which took place on June 21, 1993, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This issue was designed by Phil Jordan of Falls Church, Virginia. As an extra security measure, elliptical perforations were used on sheets of stamps to identify genuine issues from those that might be counterfeited. The postage stamps were manufactured by Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd. in the offset/intaglio process. On June 22, 1995, in Anaheim, California, the USPS commemorated the Space Shuttle Challenger, STS-7, with the issuance of a 3-dollar postage stamp. Again designed by Phil Jordan, the stamp features the Challenger Space Shuttle. The name of the Space Shuttle was inscribed in microtype and secretly blended into the design matrix to satisfy concern about matters of security. This was the first time that the Post Office used an actual photograph from a NASA mission, instead of an illustration based on a photograph. This issue was also printed by Ashton-Potter USA, Ltd., on the offset-intaglio printer. On November 19, 1998, in New York City, the Post Office issued the Space Shuttle Piggyback $11.75 definitive Express Mail postage stamp. With all the fanfare surrounding the United States space program, this ceremony was in conjunction with the special First Day of Issue grand event that in New York that year. This issue was also designed by Phil Jordan and was printed by the Banknote Corporation of America. Mars Pathfinder In November 1997, to commemorate achievements of Mars Pathfinder program, $3 Priority Mail stamp was issued, and 15 million stamps have been printed. "Based on the first image received from the Mars Pathfinder after its landing on the Martian surface July 4, 1997, the stamp features the Sojourner rover resting on the Pathfinder with a panoramic view of the Ares Vallis region of Mars in the background. Informational text about the Pathfinder mission is printed on the reverse of the stamp sheet." See also Astrophilately Airmails of the United States List of United States airmail stamps Postage stamps and postal history of the United States Soviet space exploration history on Soviet stamps Topical stamp collecting Further reading Ball, David S. American Astrophilately: the first 50 years. Charleston, SC: A&A Publishers, 2010 343p. Courtney, R. Howard. U.S. Space Log. Peoria? IL.: American Topical Association Space Unit, 1971 Kelen, Emery. Stamps Tell